Mannny mauls Mussina as Sox defeat Stanks

Sox 4, New York 3
WP: Beckett (1-1)
LP: Beckett (1-2)
SV: Papelbon (4)
HRs: BOS-Manny (2)

SUMMARY:
Manny Ramirez nearly single-handedly defeated his hometown team with a pair of extra base hits and 3 runs batted in, and Jonathan Papelbon weathered a 2+ hour rain delay to strike out Alex Rodriguez with the game on the line as Boston took Game 2 of the series.

Superstar: Manny 2-4, 2R, 3BI
His towering solo shot in the 4th, which hit 3/4 of the way up the Volvo sign atop the Monster, may have been the more memorable blast of the day, but it was his 2out, 2-run double that put the Sox ahead to stay in the 6th that was his more important hit of the afternoon.

The Biggest Loser: David Ortiz 0-4, K, GIDP
Papi's slump has now reached epic proportions (3-44, .070), and it was downright sad to see him ground into a double play on a check swing with two on and nobody out in the first inning.

RECAP:
The first Sox victory over New York in 2008 may have been a long time in the making, but it was well worth the wait.

Well, that's easy for me to say, I was only watching it on TV.

New York had two runners on base with two outs in the 8th, down 4-3, and Tito had just made the call to the pen to bring his closer in to relieve Hideki Okajima and face Alex Rodriguez with the game on the line.

Unfortunately that's right when Mother Nature decided to intervene in what had been a thrilling installment of the Rivalry, and just as Paps was about to take the mound the drizzling skies opened up, the umps called for the tarp, and the game would be halted for over two hours.

No problem for me, as I finished the yard work I had abandoned, cooked a few steaks on the grill, took a shower and watched the end of the third round of the Masters.

The downpour wasn't as enjoyable for the brave souls who chose to stick it out at Fenway to see the game to its conclusion, but at least when play finally resumed 2 hours and 11 minutes later, Paps made those who stuck it out got their money's worth.

When play resumed A-Rod was at the plate with a chance to at least tie the game or put New York in front with a base hit. But Paps would have none of that. He quickly made mincemeat of Rodriguez, needing just three pitches to strike the reigning MVP out, and Papelbon punctuated the moment with his signature primal scream/first pump/crazy glare/ hop-step as he bounced off the field.

It was the moment everyone who braved the delay had been waiting for, and as I said before it was worth the wait.

The game leading up to that point had been just as good, before Mother Nature cast her untimely spell on those of us who had been waiting for a BOS/NY game that didn't involve a New York pitcher completely shutting the Sox offense down.

Instead Josh Beckett (6.2IP, 5H, 3ER, 1BB, 5K) bounced back from a rough first outing with a solid second showing, limiting the Stanks to just four singles and a double over 6+ innings before giving way to Manny Delcarmen after allowing New York to close to 4-3 in the 7th.

Manny Ramirez got the scoring started with a mammoth solo shot in the 4th off Mike Mussina (5.2IP, 8H, 4ER, 0BB, 1K, HR), a ball that would have sailed over Lansdowne if not for the billboard blocking its trajectory.

But New York took the lead two innings later by stringing together a couple of hits mixed in with a sac bunt, a sac fly and a wild pitch, and it started to look like Boston was going to lose another tough one to the boys from the Bronx.

Except another boy from the Bronx would have none of that.

Ramirez, who always does his best hitting against his hometown club, came up with two outs and Jacoby Ellsbury at third and Dustin Pedroia at second and did what his partner in crime Ortiz couldn't do before him- drive in the big runs in a key situation.

Manny laced a double the opposite way to the triangle in right center, easily plating both runners and eliciting a huge ovation from the crowd as he stood on the second base bag and soaked it all in like a victorious politician.

That's the version of Manny being Manny we all love.

The rest, as they say, is history. Beckett came out after New York sliced the deficit to one, and Manny Delcarmen recorded his biggest out of 08 when he struck out Jose Molina with the tying run on second to end the 7th.

After the dramatic, rain-lengthened 8th, Papelbon returned for the 9th and quickly dispatched the three Stankee hitters, striking out Giambi and Posada before getting Robinson Cano to ground out to end it, and a mere five hours after the game started it was over, and the Sox had a big win heading into the series finale tomorrow night on ESPN.

Hopefully Mother Nature cooperates in that one or it could be another long night.

RECORD: 6-6
AL EAST: 1.5 GB
STREAK: W-1
UP NEXT: Sun vs NY 8PM, ESPN Hughes vs. Matsuzaka